Monday, May 12, 2014

Statement Analysis of 911 Call: Clare Shelswell

As requested: Here is an example of an innocent caller; yet we see characteristics that can mimic guilty callers. This is why context is so important. The caller is a medical professional and mother who is giving immediate help, and is asking for help, to help.

911 Calls are not unique to themselves for the purpose of Statement Analysis. The "expected versus the unexpected", the work of Avinoam Sapir (www.lsiscan.com) is applied in the same manner as it is in other statements. Any claim to the contrary is intellectual theft. In Statement Analysis, innocence (de facto, not just judicial) is presupposed. This is call the "expected" in analysis. When we find something other than the expected, we are confronted with "the unexpected" for analysis. In a 911 call, we expect things such as:Urgency, no time for small talk, or pleasantries. Help asked for the victim, specificallyPriority to help the victim We do not expect an emergency to yield:No help for the victim,pleasant, easy greetings,The words "I'm sorry"blame placed upon victim Alibi building...and so on. This is common sense now applied, so the contexts very important.In this case, a step father just slashed the throat of his 5 year old step child. The mother had just come in and she is trained as a nurse. This context is crucial: The nurse is attempting to save the child's life. It is, therefore, expected that a medical professional will ask for help for herself, as she seeks to save the victim's life. This is difficult to read. The mother's desperation shows her efforts, as well as her instincts and priority. The mother does not show guilty knowledge of the assault. We often see guilty indicators in examples, and I have been asked to post one in which the caller is innocent of the homicide.

The victim is a 5 year old, Clare, who's stepfather, Peter James Wilson, slit her throat to "discipline" her.

It is horrific reading.

Vancouver Sun:

911 operator: What’s going on ma’am

Wilson (screaming): Oh my God, my baby, you need to send an ambulance right nowThere is no delay as the subject begins with the demand for an ambulance (medical) first.

911 operator: You need to tell me what’s happening and calm down

Wilson: My daughter’s throat has just been cut. I need you to come right now! I can’t stop the bleeding.Passivity noted: "has just been cut" rather than who cut it. Why? We seek an answer as we go along in the analysis. A. Is it that she wishes to conceal the identity? B. Or, is it due to the priority of the actual throat bleeding?

Here we have the caller asking for help, specifically, but it is not a red flag because the caller is specifically seeking help to help the victim.

Follow the pronouns: "my baby" is now "my daughter" while the throat is cut. Note the ownership of both. Note the maternal instinct of the former.

911 operator: OK, what’s the address?

Wilson: I don’t know… by Cushman Lake.

911 operator: North, south of Seattle Lake?

Wilson: I don’t know! I don’t know where!We will learn why, shortly, she did not know the answer.

911 operator: Ma’am, you need to calm down and give me an address, or we can’t come.

The begging of a mother to save the life of her child. The mother recognizes that she cannot save the child's life on her own and must have help. Even under duress, she keeps her wits about her. She is on high hormonal alert.

911 operator: “Ma’am, they are. Please keep pressure on that wound. Don’t take anything off of it.”

Wilson: She’s barely breathing, she’s barely breathing.Sensitivity seen via repetition. That she is "barely" breathing is of extreme sensitivity to the caller.

911 operator: Ok get her on the floor, on her back

Wilson: She is on her back, but I’ve got her head up, the cut is on her throat…you have to hurry up please, you need to come nowNote the importance of the words that follow "but";Note articles are instinctive. It is not "a" cut, but it is "the" cut that is draining away the life from her daughter.

Constant begging is the expected. Impatience noted.

911 operator: They are on their way ma’am, I dispatched them out.

Wilson: You need to send the police too

The urgency has precluded a further explanation at this time. The concentration is upon the victim. The victim is the first priority, but she still is able to maintain focus upon the secondary issue: there is a murderer present.

911 operator: They are getting there ma’amThe mother immediately turns back to her priority, even if it is not the priority of the 911 operator, who now must see to it that the EMT workers are safe.

Wilson: She’s breathing but it’s really, really ragged and infrequent"But" is a word that is used in comparison, or even in rebuttal. That she is breathing is now weighed, in comparison to health: the breathing is not just ragged, but "really" ragged and "infrequent."

911 operator: Is she changing color?

Wilson: She’s really pale, I’m cradling herNow the 'nurse' has her laying properly in position, head up, while the 'mother' "cradles" her.

911 operator: Ok I want you to keep pressure on that wound, whatever you do, don’t take the rag off, if it gets soaked through, put another on top of that…

Wilson: Ok I started on that

911 operator: Ok keep doing that, we have people en route now..either monitor her breathing very closely, if she stops breathing I need to know right away…is she conscious and alert?

Wilson: No she is unconscious, not alert of anything. Respiratory rate is 4 to 6 a minuteThis is the first time medical language of expertise enters in. The subject is mother and now professional, but in both suits, she is seeking to save her daughter. This is the priority. 911 operator: Does anyone there know CPR in case she stops breathing?Wilson: I’m a nurse but the gash on her throat is so big there’s no way it would work. I don’t know if [bleeding] is under control911 operator: “How did this happen?”Wilson: “My husband took a knife to her throat.”911 operator: “Your husb- purposely?”Shock to the operatorWilson: “Yes.”Note no further explanation. The focus is saving her daughter's life. After uttering such terrible odds, the mother continues her focus upon her child, who's life is slipping from her. 911 operator: “We need law enforcement on that call. Where is he now?”Wilson: “He’s here, but he’s away from her. This is what I said you need to send police too…I haven’t really examined the wound, she’s still breathing…hang in there baby, hang in there.Her own life, at this moment, is not precious to her. "He's here" is refuted with the word "but" and the mother states he is not near the child. Even here, the mother is thinking of the child's safety, above her own. This may not have been the case when she moved him in, but it is in the moment now. She is her "baby" again. She gives words of encouragement to her child. 911 operator: What’s going on with her right now?Wilson: Her respiratory rate seems to have improved a little bit. She’s still pale, but conforming with the rest of the colour of her body911 operator: What did you say her respiration was?Wilson: Approximately 8 a minute now.Her professional training stands strong. This is where the rehearsals of the brain, over years, shows how even instinct can be subordinated with training. She is now 'nurse' again. 911 operator: “Does he still have the weapon, ma’am?”Wilson: “No, he does not.”very firm. 911 operator: “OK, where is the weapon?”Wilson: “It’s on the floor in the kitchen – where I am, not where he is.”She does not fear him; she fears losing her daughter. 911 operator: “OK, where is he in the house?”Wilson: “He’s sitting in the next room, but he’s pretty docile right now.”body posture and location noted. She has her wits due to adrenaline. 911 operator: “OK, why is he so docile?”Wilson: “Probably because he’s in shock over what he just did.”911 operator: how’s she doing now?Wilson: Breathing is becoming faster, but definitely more shallow. You need to move right now.911 operator: They are ma’amWilson: ETA?The anxiety continues to be on help for her daughter's life. Wilson: I can’t give you an ETA, ma’am. Stand by.Wilson talking to another person in the room (“Is she breathing? Yeah. Can you see the wound..can somebody stay out front, get Arthur out front?)911 operator: Ok ma’am, is there someone there with you?Mmhmm911 operator: Is there any way they can get him out of the houseProbably, why?911 operator: Because we don’t need him the houseOk, the only complication with that is if we do that there might be a second911 operator: If you don’t think that’s safe to try and get him out of the house I don’t want you to do that, i’m just giving you some ideas.Wilson: “She is not breathing.”911 operator: “OK, then you’re going to get her some air then. Is there anybody else there who can hold that bandage on while you tilt the head back and give her CPR?”Wilson: “Yeah, but I’m going to have to keep the phone down.”911 operator: “OK, just keep it as close to you as you can, and let me know what’s going on.”Here is the part where the it gets confusing…it seems that another woman is now talking on the phone with the 911 operator while the mother is helping the daughter, but can’t confirm who this woman is.It does not look like she’s breathing911 operator: So dad is in the other room?Interesting that the operator called him "dad"Yeah…the air is just coming right through her throat911 operator: ok, stand by, I will talk to my unitWilson (in background): Oh my God, they have to hurry now!911 operator: What happened when you tried to attempt CPR?It sounds like the air is going right through her throat…I can’t feel her chest rising(crying in the background)Wilson (in the background): Nothing is getting into her chest when I breathe through her mouth, it’s all exiting in the gash in her throat! She is not breathing, she is not breathing, hurry up! Goddamnit! You have to hurry!Cursing is expected 911 operator: Ma’am we are getting there as fast as we can, please try to get some air into her. Is there someone helping you?Continue with the CPR, Sarah911 operator: Can you feel a pulse, a heartbeat, anything?NoWilson (in the background): Her chest is not rising at all, the gash in her throat is too big, they have to hurry up!911 operator: They are coming as fast as they canWilson (in the background): Give me another rag, oh my God, my baby..911 operator: Are you guys the owner of the property?No we’re renting the cabin for the weekendWhich is why she did not have the address. 911 operator: What started this tonight?I don’t even know, I was gone, I just got back hereWilson (in the background): Please, they have to hurry!911 operator: Ma’am do you feel comfortable moving her out of the house at all?I don’t think that’s a good ideaWilson (in the background): There’s no difference, she’s dying!911 operator: Is the dad still in the house?Yes911 operator: What is he doing?Sitting on the floor911 operator: Is her alert at all?Wilson (in the background): It’s not him, you need to get the ambulance here for her!Note the focus of her concern is for her daughter. For her husband, she wants police. 911 Operator: Ma’am.Yes?911 operator: Can you get her outside? If you can get her outside away from dad, we have a better chance of aid coming in without law enforcementThat’s not important, that’s not relevant911 operator: Ma’am can you get her outside?There’s no point in that911 operator: Why is that?He’s not doing anything, he’s just sitting on the floorshe is zoned so much upon her daughter that she has fearlessness towards the killer. This is maternal instinct in the rawest element. Wilson (in the background): Where are the paramedics?911 operator: I can’t make my units come in without law enforcement being thereThe operator must care for the lives of EMT staff. There’s nobody here911 operator: We need to do something to try and save herIf he leaves, can you come in?911 operator: Yes{Speaking to dad): Can you leave? (To operator): He’s leavingWhy did she ask, and not order him out? This may have been wisdom in action: do not poke a dangerous animal. 911 operator: Tell him to get as far as he can but stay in the area(She repeats the instruction)}911 operator: Is there vehicle he can go sit in? Is he out of the house?Yes911 operator: Someone needs to tell me where dad went nowstill concerned for the lives of staffHe went to other side of property, he’s sitting outside911 operator: How far away?He’s literally non-coherent911 operator: I know, please answer my question. How far away from the house is he?The next lot over…Ok listen to me she has not been breathing for approximately 10 minutes at this point, if the paramedics don’t get there stat she is not going to survive. How far out are they?She answers the question, but then demands attention with "Ok, listen to me" and brings back the priority of the call911 operator: I’ve advised paramedics Dad is out of the house. Does he have any weapons on him?No he has nothing.911 operator: Ok, stand by…What’s going on with her now?She’s dead. We’re doing cpr but she’s effectively dead unless they’re here now.911 operator: Are you there ma’am?Yes911 operator: Are you doing CPR and chest compressions?She’s just doing CPR can’t do chest compressions while she’s doing CPRWilson (in the background): How far out are they?!911 operator: Can you give me description of male?5’8”, 250 pounds, brown hair, shorts and a polo shirt, I can’t tell from here, I really wasn’t paying attention911 Operator: You were not there when this started?I was not there, no one witnessed itNote that by "no one" it would exclude the victim. This is a strange statement. 911 operator: Is the Dad still on the other property?Yes.Wilson (in the background): We can deal with legal ratifications later! Can we please not have this be about a homicideThe caller is a 'nurse' here, in professional mode. Her priority is her daughter; nothing more. She cares not for the legal ramifications. Sarah, the mom, is doing CPR911 operator: How many people are in the house?Two of us, Clare and two people upstairs911 operator: What are the people upstairs doing?There’s another daughter, she is upstairs with my sister-in-law, trying to keep her away from this scene911 Operator: how old is the daughter?Clare is 5, maybe 6911 operator: Is that the one with injury?Yes..(says to Dad): They want you to stay where you are911 operator: How old is victim?Clare is 5Note "is" present tense911 operator: Who’s there, ma’am?The paramedics and police(Sobbing in the background)911 Operator: Alright ma’am, i’m going to let you go now

That is chilling. It is obvious that the mother's only concern was saving her child. A strak contrast to the recent 911 calls we have been practicing on. One focus- saving her duaghter. Asking for the police was an after thought and her frustration with operator about him still being in the home really brings that focus out.

Yea great mom. Divorced the father then moved far away with the kids. Picked a psychopath for a husband/step father. She should be charged with Failure To Protect and the other child should go live with her Real Dad. This was a preventable tragedy. Adding insult to injury, real dad finds out from his own brother who saw it on the news! Outrageous! Supermom didn't even have someone call the dad. Nope, bet she only called if the support check was late. So sad, so sad.

This is the one thing that has always baffled me, the worry about the father, a knife a weapon and willing to let a victim die, because the 'bad person' or suspect is present.

I get why they do it, but I think it should be up to the emergency crew if they wish to take the risk or not, not a procedure. If it was me, I'd have been fired, because I'd have gone in police or no police -- and let the chips fall where they may.

The focus of the call became about the father (the suspect) not the dying daughter -- that is wrong.

911 could have been a lot more direct about getting the husband out of the house. A nurse in that kind of personal stress is not going to have time to put together clues as to why they want him gone. They seemed to dance around the topic. They should have been extremely blunt: "Have him leave so we can get in to help your daughter!"

EMT's are not privy to the conversation as it unfolds. They do what 911 instructs. If they realized the situation fully, they might have gone in against protocol and risked their jobs. For all they knew, they could be walking into active gun fire. Hindsight is 20/20, especially when you have ALL of the detailsneatly in place.

When the child died, the husband would be the one needing protection from an adrenaline charged, blood-soaked, enraged mother. Just sayin'.

Your reply and that of Daddy's girl made me sick to my stomach. Her husband almost decapitated her baby girl. I cannot imagine living through that and not being hospitalized after a complete mental breakdown. Where's your empathy. What do you know about her 1st or 2nd marriage? I guess you both are part of the 50% of marriages that make it.

This was very difficult to read. I was feeling anxious at first and then I started to feel helpless. This didn't feel fake or contrived. This mother's fear and sadness came through loud and clear.

Comparing this to Isabelle's fathers 911 call makes it very clear that he was lying. He never had any urgency in his call or in his voice. He made inappropriate comments and laughed. No one who was frightened for their child's life would have room in their thoughts for anything like that.

Although not a 911 call, watch Billie Jean Dunn's statement to the press, that she wrote. Watch when she wants to get a message to Hailey in her press conference. I have never seen such phony crap. She states "I really love you" as flat as someone who had a lobotomy. Absolutely no feeling.

I choose another option. Distancing herself from the reality that her husband is the one who did this. That is such a horrible shock and breach of trust, she is protecting herself from dealing with that reality to enable herself to do what she has to do.

This analysis is full of ignorance and shows contempt towards women and mothers. The term "maternal instinct" is condescending enough as it is, and it is used frequently in this article. The mother has a logical, rational love and empathy towards her child. You might then say "that IS maternal instinct" but you make it clear you think it precludes logic when you describe her nursing skills as over-riding this "instinct". As though you think a maternal instinct involves wailing and petting her dying child with not a rational thought in sight.

Men think they are superior to women because they have less empathy than them, and mistake this for themselves having more intelligence. People think they are superior to things they don't understand.

Also, you described the mother as "hormonal" which is a typical way for men to belittle women (despite evidence showing that hormones only effect decision making in men). This situation had nothing to do with hormones. You wouldn't be so condescending in your analysis of a panicked innocent father who would react in exactly the same way. Finally, it is perfectly rational to not be afraid of a killer who is no longer a threat. He was disarmed, short, fat, incoherent, and she was surrounded by other people who could protect them. Why concentrate on him when her daughter was dying?

There has been misogyny in some of your other posts too, such referring to an imaginary generic liar as "she" when standard English languages uses "he" as default.

This analysis is full of ignorance and shows contempt towards women and mothers. The term "maternal instinct" is condescending enough as it is, and it is used frequently in this article. The mother has a logical, rational love and empathy towards her child. You might then say "that IS maternal instinct" but you make it clear you think it precludes logic when you describe her nursing skills as over-riding this "instinct". As though you think a maternal instinct involves wailing and petting her dying child with not a rational thought in sight.

Men think they are superior to women because they have less empathy than them, and mistake this for themselves having more intelligence. People think they are superior to things they don't understand.

Also, you described the mother as "hormonal" which is a typical way for men to belittle women (despite evidence showing that hormones only effect decision making in men). This situation had nothing to do with hormones. You wouldn't be so condescending in your analysis of a panicked innocent father who would react in exactly the same way. Finally, it is perfectly rational to not be afraid of a killer who is no longer a threat. He was disarmed, short, fat, incoherent, and she was surrounded by other people who could protect them. Why concentrate on him when her daughter was dying?

There has been misogyny in some of your other posts too, such referring to an imaginary generic liar as "she" when standard English languages uses "he" as default.

I don't think Peter was at all out of line in calling the mother hormonal. Adrenal hormones flood both male and females when the fight or flight instinct kicks in. It's called adrenaline and it makes one super-alert and ready to react.

A mother in this situation would be hysterical and try to do whatever she could to save her daughter. The mother's nursing instinct kicked in and the she was able to do everything clinical in her power to save her daughter. She is both mother and nurse simultaneously, although her nursing instinct was strongly present to act immediately and appropriate given the circumstances. Her motherly instinct was panic, despair. and anguish although not fully realized until after the event. Nurses are taught to react and it is often not until much later that one can mentally process what horror occurred. The fact that this horror happened to her own daughter was something that will take the remainder of her life to reconcile, if ever. She probably has relived the memories hour by hour wondering if she did the right things as a nurse (she did) and grieving as a mother.

As far as being afraid of the killer's presence, I would think that if he interfered with her efforts to save her daughter that he would have been in mortal danger himself from an enraged mother who could successfully claim temporary insanity. I know I would be insane. God bless this woman and her remaining daughter.

Anon @551 I respectfully disagree with you. I am a woman and sometimes I am hormonal. I'm also a mother. There is such a thing as maternal instinct. Example: walking through a friends backyard at twilight I tripped on a stick holding my 11 mth old daughter. That quick, I was on my back even though I fell face first. Without a thought my body must've twisted to protect my baby.I am in no way athletic or graceful so that was either maternal instinct or God looking after his clumsy creation lol

Anonymous said...This analysis is full of ignorance and shows contempt towards women and mothers. The term "maternal instinct" is condescending enough as it is, and it is used frequently in this article. The mother has a logical, rational love and empathy towards her child. You might then say "that IS maternal instinct" but you make it clear you think it precludes logic when you describe her nursing skills as over-riding this "instinct". As though you think a maternal instinct involves wailing and petting her dying child with not a rational thought in sight.

Men think they are superior to women because they have less empathy than them, and mistake this for themselves having more intelligence. People think they are superior to things they don't understand.

Also, you described the mother as "hormonal" which is a typical way for men to belittle women (despite evidence showing that hormones only effect decision making in men). This situation had nothing to do with hormones. You wouldn't be so condescending in your analysis of a panicked innocent father who would react in exactly the same way. Finally, it is perfectly rational to not be afraid of a killer who is no longer a threat. He was disarmed, short, fat, incoherent, and she was surrounded by other people who could protect them. Why concentrate on him when her daughter was dying?

There has been misogyny in some of your other posts too, such referring to an imaginary generic liar as "she" when standard English languages uses "he" as default.May 14, 2014 at 5:51 PM

I would also use "Anonymous" if I posted something this foolish.

Maternal instincts are powerful. See the original summary judgement of Solomon, and why it has been taught for thousands of years.

The "she" reference to lying while the "he" is the norm:

The "she" was intentional as it referred to someone most readers here are familiar with.

As to men being superior, I offer only that men are physically superior to women, on a whole, but I still believe that women are emotionally superior, in that they have a greater capacity within the emotional range.

For proof of this, I only wish a Happy Mother's Day, and the seemingly boundless love of a mother.

Men and women are different.

If I wrote this above statement just a few years ago, I would have been laughed at for pointing out the obvious, like the claim that the sun is warm.

For those saying that EMS should be able to use their own judgement when going into possibly dangerous situations: That is why 911 puts out "Violence in Progress" calls and does not relay the address until the situation is deemed safe. Rule #1 for EMS and Fire: YOUR personal safety trumps everyone and everything else.I might be the best EMT/paramedic/Firefighter in the world, but I am ZERO use to the patient if I run in and get shot or stabbed myself..

Anonymous@ 5:51pm, I respectfully disagree with you as well. Peter writes of women, mothers and their capabilities and dignity with awe, love and grace, I have read many such supportive articles he has written here. I implore you to read more on this site.